Art of taking and projecting motion-pictures in colors.



L. G. VAN RIPER. ART OF TAKING AND PROJEGTING MOTION PICTURES IN COLORS.

- APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, 1512 1,130,221

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

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L. G. VAN RIPER' ART OF TAKING AND PROJEGTING MOTION PICTURES IN COLORS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, 1912.

1 1 30,22 1 Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

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ortrrnn Lewis 0. vnir Binnie,

@F NEW YQBK, N. Y.

or TAKING Ann rnoanorrlte morron-rrcronns in con-ens.

t l-M3 221, grmififleticfi of Letters Patent Moro Application filed April 8,1912, Serial Ito. 6893M.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that LLnwrs G. VAN citizen of the United; States, residing at New York city, in the county oi-New York and State or" New York, have inventecl certoin new and useful linprovements in the Art of Taking and. Projecting Motionl ictures in @clors, of which the vfollowing is e specification. l

My invention relates to the art of taking incl projecting motion pictures in colors.

Qne of the principal objects of the invention is to provide on improvement in this art whereby "it is possible to obtain s closer opproximetion to the colors of the subject than is possible with the methods heretofore used...

More specifically, my object lies been to provide a, method by the employment of wherein,

- gect.

which it is reesible to photogrephicell v record on the filni o'ncl subsequently present production three or more of the priincry color components ot the original sub- Tlie method which has met withthe greatest success unto the present time is limited to the use of two color components, and, as

a. result, has roilerl to reproduce the reel colors and shades oi the originel subject with anything more than a. rough approximotion.

A further object or the invention is to' improve upon the two color process by pro aiding e. better distribution of the color value crests on the filmsc that the film may be run tlmougrfothe machine at a lower rate of speed than lies been possible heretofore A further object is to elimina-teor minircize whet is known as color flicker which results when o single color is strongly precloininent 1 the subject.

The inven ion llZtS for further objects to provide sucbotlier improvementsin this art as will be'liereinotter iescribed cleiroecl.

- Suitable means for carrying out tlie in1-- proved rnetlrocl which 1 have invented is shown n,

is tliogrernrnatic representetion of o corners; Fig. 2 as similar view of, theprojecting machine; 3 e view of o shutter which may be userl in comers, onl projecting machine. Fig. 4 a. frog mentery view of a film showing one ort Figure l rangernent' or" the color recortis or areas;

5 a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a nioclificotion; Fig. 6 shows e filrowith c ing color screen, and Figs. 8 9 show the green component oi the accompanying drawings,

different arrangement oi the color areas "from that shown in Fig. l; Fig. 7 shows the arrangement of the film end. 2L correspond.-

lilms for use in is two color process in which the color value arses nave respectively clifierent arrangements.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several figures oi? the drawings.

In the method of producing colorecl motion pictures which up to the present time has proved most successful, the subject is photographed on What isknown as a penchrornetic film through a. series eltero nateljv reel and green color screens sothat the alternate ictures on-tlie iilm are recorcls of the respectively reel and green color corcponentsof the subject. The negative film so produced is thenclevelopecl and e positive film inside therefrom. The positive lilrn is run through a projecting machine which is provided with a shutter having tronspsrent screens colored recl and green, The movements of the film sncl the shutter ere timecl so that the ligprojected through the records of the red. componen passes through the red screen of the shutter while the lightprojecteaithrough the records of subject posses through the green screens of the 'lliis-methocl has the obvious disc i of reproducing only two colors of the ori nal and. such. tints and shades es be mode by the combination of such two colors. lit was attempted to workout at three color process along the some nes but it was found with practical rote of speed. for the film the eye would not retain all the color sensations long enough to 301213863 all three colors into on integrsl wli l The seerns to be that the eye will re then sensations otlers. lee p ency value or the colors incr from to violet, rerl'oeving the persistency value. Tliet'is to so physical stimulus ceosecl the eye w tsin the reel sensation for a certain An of time. will retain the other primary color sensations for longer periods, each color having its particular persistency Valjij. My invention, by teking advantage of this "fact, provides a methoti-of proclucing colorecl motion pictures in accordance with which the successive irnoges are so colored that Wl'tl? reference to any given ores of the ice out exceeding the speed at which nated portion of the screen or composite projected image the color or colors having relatively low persistency value occur more frequently than the color or colors having a higher persistency value. In this way, withit is practical to run the film through the projecting machine it is possible to reproduce all of the color components of the original subject. On the other hand, if only two color components are reproduced the advantage is secured of decreasing the speed of the film.

In the two colormetlmd Which has beenabove described, it has beenvv considered necessary to run the film at about double the speed of the ordinary black and white pic ture film. This of course is a disadvantage.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive lO designates the box of a camera, ll-the lenses and 12 a panchromatic film which is inter mittently moved in the directionindicated by the arrow. 13 designates a shutter which rotates continuously between the film 12 and the lenses 11. The shutter has the opaque se'ctorsl t between which are ,arranged multicolor screens, the colors of which are disposed in concentric arcuate bands. In screen numbered 1 (Fig. 13) the 'outer. band is blue, the intermediate band green, and the inner band red, the latter being as wide as the other two put together. These screens are, of course, transparent, that is, transparent respectively.- to blue,

. green and red light waves. The shutter r0- tates in the direction of the arrow. The

black sectors shut off the light from the film I during its intermittent movements, In screen numbered 2 the red band occuples the position of the green and blue bands in screen, numbered 1. In screen numbered 3 the red band is in the samposition as in screen' numbered 1 butthe position of the blue and green bands is reversed. In screen numbered 4 the red is in the same'position as in screen numbered 2, the. blue and green being reversed. The film which is produced by the arrangements above described has thereon a series of pictures of the subject, each picture being divided into what may be termed primary color areas which reproduce photographically a record of three primary color components as found-in the portions of the subject corresponding to said areas respectively. Fig. 4 gives a diagram of .such film. The pictures, ,that is, photographic representations of the snbject in this arrangement may be divided 1n groups 1 of four, eachgroup being arepetition of the preceding group. The arrangement of the colOr areas: in eachof the four piEtures' of a group difier but it will be observed, first, that theredcolorareas occur in every picture in larger: proportions than thoseof other colors and are distributed so that when. any twosuccessive pictures of the groupare superimposed or projected upon the same surface the, red areas entirely cover the component surface of one picture, and

" second, that the green and blue-violet color areas are so distributed that if the four pictures. of the group are superimposed, or proected, one upon the other the green and blue-violet color will each cover its entire .area. A film so formed (or rather apositive madeirom anegative so formed) is run throughaprojecting machine, such, for example, as that shown in Fig. 2. 12 designates the film, condensers and 17 the objective lenses. A shutter lft exactly' like thatusedin taking the pictures is primed so that its screens numbered 1, 2, '3 and 4, coincide with the correspondingly, numbered pictures on the films. The filmisrun through the machine at a sufficiently high rate of speed that the eye of the observer wilLretain the color sens ation produced by projecting the color components from the'color areas in the succes- 15 the source of light, 16 the sive pictures in the manner shown, so that, let

us-say, the red color sensation from picture'eo number 1 of group A is retained by the observer until picture number 3 of group A takes its place While the greenand blue-vio-.

1et'color sensations from picture number 1 of group are retained until picture number 1 of group B takes its place. As the red color sensation from picturenumber- 3 of group A and the v green and blue-violet sensations from picturenuinber 1 of group M die out, they are replaced by color sensations derived from picture number 1 not group B, in whichthe distribution of color areas is just the same as in picture-number 1 of film desired. Of course the colors in the sub ect may change but the color areas. do not.

this work of composition, film is ,not run at any higher rate of speed than is done with the two color process be-- causeit has twice as manyred s'ensationsin a given period as it has sensations ofblue and green. It is obvious that this same system mightbe carried out with a greater degree of refinement having reference to the relative persistency values of the different colors, if it were deemed advisable. to do so. 'In Fig. 5 I have. indicated means for P l fi g' ages from a film of the ch'aracted above described which difiers' f om The eye willbe, able to accomplisheven though the -of group A and so onthroughout any length v I areas'of the film, which areas in this'case are coincident with the successive photographic representations of ma am cases herein described in whichthe color areas reproducing one color .01 the subject the figures of the subject. Number 1 is red, or a given portion thereof occur more frenumber 2 green, number 3 red and number a. blue. By this arrangement the red image and hence the red sensation is produced twice as often as the green or blue image. The color screen 20 (orrotary shutter as .the'case may be) is of course colored to correspond. This arrangement meets the requirements of vision incident to the low V persistency value of the red sensation equally as well as that shown in the preceding figures. Howevenit does not equalize the volume of light projected on the obective screen and may, with certain subjects, give rise to an inequality of light that may be termed light flicker. For, example, suppose that the color red strongly predominates'in the subject. It is obvious that'with the film shown in Fig. '6 the red areas will" be more transparent than the green and blue areas. As a result, the vol ume of light projected will vary intermittently producing a pulsating effect which'is trying to the eyes. This is entirely overcome by the arrangement shown in Fig. 4,

inwhich the volume of light is approXi-' mately equal for eachimage, that is, each; representation of the entire subject, regardless of the color distribution of the subject, In Fig. 8 T have shown a 51m .21 which records only two color components, namely,

red and .green. Each group, oi pictures A B etc, contains two records of red and one of green. The advantage which this film g has over the two color films now used is that it may be run at a slower rate of speed through the projectingmachine.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a similar two color film but with the color areas so arranged as to eliminate possible light flicker. Picture number 1 of group A has first a, green area one-third the width of the picture, then a red area two-thirds coveringthe remaining two-thirds of the picture. Number 2 has a green area in the middle with red areas on each side. Number 3 is like number 1 except that the red and green are reversed. The arrangement is the same in groups B? and throughout the length of the film. 7

It will be readily understood that other dispositions of the color areas on the film might be devised diilerent from those, shown and also that the process might-be carried out with apparatus unlike *that which has been described above. For example, by the use of suitable apparatus the film might be 1 color areas is not limited to the particular quently than those reproducing another color. By theterm color areas l do not mean that the films need be actually colcred. Tn carrying out the'prelterred method above described, that is with the use of colored screens in the projecting machinefthey will'not need to be actually colored. They will be simply black and white photographic records ofthe several color components of the subject. Other modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

By the term image as used herein 1 intendthe single visible presentation or pic'- ture projected (whether on a screenor oth erwise) from one of the series of photographs of the subject which the film or other trans arenc" rovides. The term ro'ection, ,when used in a substantive sense, sig-, miles the area or space, on a screen for example, which the images pro ected from the series of photographs on'thelilm occupy in succession. v I

T do not claim herein broadly the division of each image into dii'lerent color areas, as 7 this method forms the subject-matter of an application Serial No. 765,083, tiled May 2, 1913, this feature of my method being claimed herein only combination with the provision whereby the color or colors of low 7 tures in colors, which consists in projecting;- from' a single series of photographs of the subject a single series of difierently colored images in which the color'or colors having the lower persistency value occur in any given portion of the projection more :Ere quently than the color or colors having higher persistency value.

2. The method of producing motion pie tures in colors, which consists in projecting trom a single series of photographs or subject a single series or images colored red, green and blue, in which series the red ocours, in any given portion of the projection,

more frequently. than the blue or green.

3. The method of producing motion pictures in colors, which consists in projecting a series of images in which each image has 'difierently colored areas arranged so in any given portion of theprojeetion acolor havingmelatively low persistency value ap pears more frequently than a color orcolors having higher ersistency valu'es.

' .4. The metho of producing motion pictures in colors, which consists projecting a series of images in which each image has diflerently colored areas arranged so that in from a single series of photographs of the subject a sin le series of colored images contalmng re and another color or colors, 1n wh ch serlesthe red occurs, 1n any given portion of the projection, more frequently than the other color or colors. i' .6, The method of producing mot1on pictunes colors which consists in successively projecting a series of images in which each image has difl'erently colored areas arranged so that in every portion of the projection the color or colors having the lower persistency value is or are repeated more "frequently than the color or colors of higher persistency Value, the color. areas being so arranged in the projection.

I such order that a certain number of succes- 40 successive images that when apredetermined number-of images has, been projected each color has been produced 'in every PQItlOIlIOf 7." The method of producing motion-pictures'i-n colors which consists in repeatedly photographing afsubject through color filterse which selectively record in different areas of each photographdifierent color components :of portions. of the subject corresponding to said areas respectively, in

sivei photog ap w l in e a g ate-w cord the several selected color components ofevery" portion ofthesubject and reproduce the entiresubject in the areas recording a color component of relatively low pen sistency value more frequently than in the areas recording a color componentiogf higher persistency value and pnojectin images from said photographs through eoor filters correspondin to the color filters through which said p otographs were 8. The method of producing motion pictures in colors which consists in repeatedly interposed is red.

areas of each photograph the red and antively in such order that a certain number of successive photographs will, in the aggre ;gate,=record the selected color components of every portion of the subject and reproduce the entire subject in the areas recording the red component more frequently than in the areas recording the other color component; vand projecting vimages from said photographs through color filters corresponding to the color filtersthltough which said photog aph Were taken.

-9. The method of producing. motion pictnres in colors which consists in repeatedly photographing a subject through .color filters selectively recording several .color components of the subject in-.a single series of photographs which reproduce the subject in the records of .a color component of relatively low-persistency value more frequently ithan in the records of a color component of higher persistency value; and projecting a s ngle. series of images from Said photographs through color filters corresponding to ,the color filters through which said photoph re kena 10. The method of producing motion pictureson colors which-consists 1n repeatedly photographing .a subject thlgoughcolor filters selectively recording red and'another color component ofthe subject ina single series of photographs which reproduce the subject in the records of the red component more frequently than in. the records of the other color component; andprojecting a single-series ofimages from said photographs throuh color filters corresponding to the color ters through'whichsaid photographs were taken. 1 i

11. A process of vcolor cinematography in more than two colors, wherein color screens are interposed successively in single series and in such order that "every alternate screen LEWIS C. VAN RIPER.

Witnesses:

, t .FA KE G, Y. SKINNnR. 1

photographing a subject through color fil- I ters which selectively record in different 

